Unhealthy melaleuca leucadendra (broad leaf paperbark)

paulspeterson

Howdy all

I am seeking some assistance in identifying the problem with my unhealthy melaleuca leucadendra. The main issue is yellowish leaves and stunted growth. This tree was planted as a healthy little fella along with several others about 2+ years ago. All have recieved the same care. However this tree is growing very slow and very unhealthy looking compared to the others. I have attached some pictures. You can see a couple of his brothers in the background which are quite healthy trees with typical dark green leaves and are more than twice the size. Initially it regularly got its leaves wet from a bore water prinkler. Thinking this may have been the problem i have'nt let the bore water sprinkler hit the tree for about a year now but still no difference. It gets watered by town water (same as the other paperbarks). Any suggestions please. I'd like to try and fix the problem rather than digging out the tree. Thanks for your assistance ... Paul (Townsville Qld)

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Eric Frei

Here's some hunches to keep you going.

Looks planted a little too deep, pull back mulch and soil near the trunk to find the trunk flare/large roots. Look for girdling roots too whilst you are at it, do not pull off any bark, use a hand trowel and garden hose.

Also just check soil pH, sometimes salinity (and bore water can be saline) causes issues so some sort of salinity test and perhaps even a sodicity test.

In my experience with these specific trees I have seen issues at trunk collar level with the ground, usually there is signs of borers and bugs about the trunk collar, and the occasional girdling root.

Once we eliminate soil "issues", girdling roots etc we can move on.

Check soil moisture, is it boggy there? Is it dry there?

Let us know what you find.

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paulspeterson

Ekka... thankyou for the info and the speedy reply. Well it seems you are on the money with the root gidling being the problem . Well bugger me, it seems I may have planted this little fella a tad too deep.I've attached a few pics. Am i able to cut these things off? If so could you please advise how i go about it. It seems there are at least two problem roots. What do you think? Any other advice is appreciated... Paul

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Eric Frei

Personally I would replace that one, pretty common to get, maybe go back to the nursery and talk to them about it.

Those problems arise from poor nursery practices of not potting up soon enough.

You know what to look for this time around.

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paulspeterson

Fair enough. Thanks Ekka. If i were to attempt to salvage this tree and cut off those girdling roots, what would you suggest might happen? And if it is possible for the tree to come good, how long might I expect before it started showing signs of improvement?

Eric Frei

You can try to cut them off carefully with a hand saw.

I dont like it because the vascular damage has already occured, there will be significant wounds on the trunk, the remaining form and spread of other roots is not ideal.

The tree may get better, but could be only a visual thing and still have decay and poor root structure.

You will be experimenting, and the true result will not be known for years, so with only two years catch up at play why risk many years of the future to failure by experimenting?

You'll always have that tree on your conscience, wondering.

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paulspeterson

sold... thanks again mate. Will hit it with the matic tomorrow then off to that dogdey nursary... Your assistance is hugely appreciated... ... Paul

Eric Frei

At the top of this thread is a poll, some fools think this place should be shut down and I should not be allowed to be a consulting arborist ...

... a yes vote would be nice since I did diagnose the problem from 1800kms away.

Lies|QAA|Queensland Arboricultural Association

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paulspeterson

A couple more questions Ekka if you dont mind... looking at the other paperbark trees that were planted at the same time, it seems that they are also planted quite deep, most of them are growing fine but a couple are a bit slower and less healthy looking. Can the deep planting effect the growth of the tree (assuming there are no girdling roots)? And should i dig the soil back away from the trunk down to the root flare level? Would that make any difference to the health of the tree?

Eric Frei

Yes, restore original grade.

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